Kate Hamera of the University of Missouri, Rolla, and Nick Branting of the University of Nebraska at Kearney have been named the top male and female Division II Scholar-Athletes of the Year by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association.

The Division II Scholar-Athletes of the Year awards are sponsored by Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex.

Hamera and Branting were chosen from among 16 regional scholar-athlete award winners. This is the fifth year of the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award program.

Hamera maintained a perfect grade-point average at Missouri-Rolla while majoring in aerospace engineering. She competed in cross country as well as indoor and outdoor track and field. She placed sixth in the 1,500-meter run at the NCAA Division II Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships and never finished any lower than sixth place in any cross country meet before the national championship. Hamera also was a two-time first-team Academic All-American. During graduation in May, she served as a student marshal for the school of engineering at the commencement ceremony.

An NCAA postgraduate scholarship recipient, Branting maintained a nearly perfect grade-point average while majoring in comprehensive biology. In the 2003-04 basketball season, he ranked 12th in the nation in scoring, averaging 22.3 points per game. Branting also was a first-team Academic All-American along with being chosen as the player of the year. He has been accepted to medical school at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.